Love in the time of Lies
by Azurelirio
Summary: She was born with the art of story telling, creating whole new worlds, captivating the spectators who witnessed her imagination. With the ambition of controlling her own life, she had left behind her protective nest, years back. However when love kicks in, it will be interesting to see whether she can still control her very own story.


_Alright, here is crazy story, about an aspiring story teller who wants to design her own story. When love kicks in, it'll be interesting to see whether she can still control her story._

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia, a woman as beautiful as her name (if not more) sees the world with different eyes than the rest of the world. Her big brown eyes always remain filled with wondrous imaginations and fantasies, the ever-glowing eyes, curious and intensely inquisitive. Since her childhood days, when she used to rest her head, in her mother's comforting lap, her eyes directed towards the messy outlines of various constellations, her mind wandered off to far places till she fell asleep while listening to her mother, listening about fairy tales, about stars.

She didn't even realize when these stories became more like an addiction rather than the simple element of her leisure-time. She was fourteen when she decided, for the first time ever, that she wanted to be a writer, a story teller.

The idea was terrifyingly alluring to her. Impelling her to go against everyone who stood as a barrier in her way.

Life, however, never goes as per plans. Her mother didn't stay for a long time by her side. In fact she lost her in mere childhood. At the age of seventeen, she decided to run away, form the wealthy Heartfilian estate, from the enormous (and suffocating atmosphere of the) mansion, her indifferent and emotionless father and everything that reminded her of her childhood, her past.

Except for one. Plue. Her cute pet, an obedient and faithful dog, who didn't hesitate for once before trailing behind his master, when she set off for a journey along an unknown path with a known destination.

Her life was less miserable when she got way from her residence. Sometimes as a journalist, sometimes as a model, she worked her level best for earning a decent amount to support her living. Things were a bit twisted at first. Most of the people she _thought_ of taking help of, were her father's associates. Soon she distanced herself from her country itself.

Life turned out to be surprisingly better as years went by. She went on exploring different countries, which was quite affordable because of the travel grants and concessions, under the fame of a well-known newswoman.

She loved travelling. Unknown places, mysterious beauty of the nature, new discoveries... were all parts of her adventurous life and she loved every bit of it. She enjoyed every day as if it was the last day of her life.

Moreover, she came to prominence, just like the red cherry on the top of her favourite chocolate cake. Although she worked as an actress or model during her rising days, as days went on, she switched to other professional possibilities, the ones she aimed for since forever.

A writer. At first, she started off as journalist(of course), then shifted to composing short stories then... a playwright.

Yes, at the age of twenty- three, she attained the job of plotting plays for a famous theatre in France. She was beyond happy while framing shows, interacting with young and ambitious actors and being able to capture the audience's attention in the most unexpected ways.

When she stood on stage after the completion of a show, watching people rising from their seats, applauding and cheering, her heart swelled with pride.

She wished her father to be in the audience, to see how his daughter had succeeded. However, that was just a wish. A never-going-to-come-true wish.

During this journey of hers, she had met people from different walks of life of whom the closest person was Levy Mcgarden, the owner of one of the most popular bookstore-cum-cafe. She would spend hours there, reading, learning and researching without a care in the world.

A few other friends were Cana Clive, who was always there to offer the best wine after a long and tiring day ( she hates to admit it but she was a little envious of Cana because of her father. Gildarts Clive was middle-aged man, who always showered Lucy with fatherly affection whenever she visited them and she appreciated it, gratefully.) then there was Mrs. Leroy, who ran a small restaurant with her husband, who presented the tastiest dishes and Jamie, a five-year-old kid, her neighbour and friend who always managed to cheer her up no matter how upset she is(which rarely happens).

Life wasn't smooth for her, considering the tension regarding plays, pressure of the upcoming shows, and anxiety of running out of ideas for her stories, but life couldn't have been better.

For her, life was perfect.

 _That is until she met him._

* * *

Natsu Dragneel. The only son of the famous business tycoon Igneel Dragneel. Unlike other children, his childhood was _tough_. He never met his biological father. Yes, Igneel actually adopted him when he was three. However, no one could have proven to be better parents than the Dragneel couple.

His childhood was tough not in a financial meaning. He had everything he needed for his entire life excluding the first three years for his life. But the real problem arouse when he came to know that he has been adopted and that his real parents left him in a dumpster and somehow he made it to an orphanage.

For more than two years after that, he had trouble accepting any sort of affection from anyone as he thought of everything as mere pity or sympathy. He had even tried to run away as things seemed fake in his eyes.

That is until his little sister was born. On her birth, he was almost sure people were bound to forget about him. However, the little angel proved otherwise. No matter how much he hated to admit his parents really loved him. He was not stupid. Yes, he has been sceptical but even a fool could understand that seeing the warmth that spread through the couple's eyes whenever they dealt with Natsu.

He was merely a child, full of vigour and enthusiasm , angered by the cruelty of this world. On his sister's birth, obviously the attention given to him lowered which was nothing but fuel to his rage.

The child however, was fascinated by the salmon-haired male. Probably because pink was her favourite colour and as a toddler she would instinctively outstretch her hand towards him in his presence. As the children grew up, Wendy grew a deeper attachment for him.

No matter how much he ignored her, she would always come running into his arms welcoming him. She accepted him as he was, no past, no future, just the present and the truth was that he was her brother after all and the fact will not change no matter what.

The eventful day was a late summer's one, when Wendy almost died. While the innocent child was shopping in the mall with her mother and brother, a group of gangsters attacked the complex. They had been on news previously but their attacks have been revolving around remote areas and during night.

While they took the customers as hostages the trio of Dragneel family held close to each other, hoping for the best. Nothing seemed life threatening until they took children away for frightening the police forces. It was then when one of the gangsters pointed his gun at Natsu and a highly strung Wendy screamed causing them to lose focus and attack her instead. Even in this position she wailed around frantically, shoving the strong men only to reach Natsu. A gunshot went off, probably from the one who was most frustrated. It was directed towards Natsu but Wendy came in between.

Things could have gotten out of control, the family could have lost both of their assets but with all the chaos and shoving going on the bullet just grazed along her shoulder. However, that wasn't the end. One the attackers, in an attempt to get away, knowing that the police would not require much time for breaking in, had shoved Wendy so hard that her head collided with the metal rod of one of the many shelves in the market.

That was when Natsu snapped. For a ten year kid, he showed unbounded courage that day. Burning with anger, fuelled by revenge, he charged towards them blindly. That was the day Natsu shot someone, that was the day he bonded with his family.

No harm came to Natsu for various reasons and of course because of his father's influence. He would stand outside the hospital room for hours watching his unconscious sister but never had the courage to go nearer cause he feared that Wendy might hate him, might be afraid of him and nothing terrified him more.

Natsu cried after a very long time the day she awoke and the first thing on her mind was her brother. Encouraged by the kind smile from his father and the outstretched hand from his mother, he made his way towards her, hugged her, and cried for hours. Rumour has it that Dragneel family has shared an unbreakable bond since that fateful day.

Time passed and the young lad grew to be an extremely handsome man, who easily took over the Dragneel Enterprise with his unmatchable business skills, naming himself as one of the most wanted bachelors. There was pressure, tension and competitions in his life but with his lovable family one side and the established career on another, life couldn't have been better.

For him, life was perfect.

 _That is until he met her._

* * *

Sunday. May, 2014. 10:19 am. Corsica, France.

A beautiful blonde lady clad in a simple royal blue strapless sundress that stretched till mid thigh, accompanied with a comfortable white cotton jacket, red lips printed all over it, sat comfortably at an outdoor restaurant, sipping on her ever-favourite mango smoothie when heated conversations made its way to her ears.

She wouldn't have normally paid attention to such stuff but she was planning on her new drama, collecting ideas from anything and everything. Yes, even from a mini street fight.

"What's happening there Cana?" she asked using a pitch higher than necessary.

A wink. "Guess you have figure that out on your own, my darling Lucy." With that the brunette disappeared behind the counter. She didn't pay much heed to her though.

To add spices to her rising curiosity, her brown eyes landed on the man engaged in the heated argument. Peculiar choice of hair colour was the thing she first noticed _. Pink._

A smirk made its way up to her face as she proceeded to take in appearance. She was somewhat shocked. He was... well, _hot._ And unbelievably handsome. Strong jaws, sharp nose, concentrated eyebrows _, beautiful green eyes_. Her proud self would never admit it but she was really enthralled by him.

Not everyone had the power to grab her attention in such a manner. Curiosity got the best of her as she made her way for a clearer image of the man. It seemed like he was requesting for something and the man standing opposite to him was refusing constantly.

He was suddenly smiling. It didn't take much of an effort for the playwright that _that smile_ was pretty sarcastic.

"Okay, fine." Wow. His voice seductive too. However his words were not.

"You son of a bitch, just go and get killed by some blood-sucking vampires, Mr. _Fucktard_. Thank you."

And then he was gone. In a fit of rage he stormed his way around the maze of stairs. A giggling blondie trailing, well more like _stalking_ close behind. It was as if she was in a trance.

When she finally found him, he was looking across the vast sea ahead. His green eyes stared at the greenish-blue waters with such intensity as if he stared long enough, they would be able to give him solutions. Poor sea. Suffering from the disastrous feeling of not accomplishing expectations.

"Um excuse me?"

The moment he turned around, time stopped. She couldn't breathe. He was even more alluring on a closer inspection. The intensity of his gaze, the bewilderness in his expression, the wild light-reddish mane, his entire appearance from the flawless white shirt to dark brown boots, basically everything about him threw her off guard.

He seemed the epitome of perfection.

"Yes?" Oh God. His voice. She was losing control over her vocabulary.

"Um.. I was just.. I guess... saw you back there.." Wow. strong independent woman was able to make the fool out of herself in front of the beautiful stranger.

His eyes widened on realization. "Yeah I was sort of asking for somethi—"

"By calling him a fucktard?!" A bark of laughter left her lips as his cheeks reddened.

Then in a blink of an eye his expression changed to that of anger, "Oh please, you don't know my situation so don't even dare to judge. I just lost this bag which contained all the important stuff, _everything!_ My passport, visa, hell even the mobile phone. You know the bag which should never get lost?... and I was just requesting to make one phone call. One damn call and that man... oh! The man, I'm telling you either he was retarded or no one in Corsica understands this fucking language of English!.. Bloody business." He practically hissed through the gritted teeth.

"Um, business? And you do realize that you sound like a woman right?" her eyes instinctively travelled to where his pockets should be and back to his face.

Now this would irritate him even more. Way to go, Lucy.

His cheeks turned a deeper shade of cherry as he hesitated his next speech, " This is... _was_ supposed to be a business trip and being.. being the boss, I let my manager handle everything. I didn't even realize I left all my important belongings in the... _bag_. My manager was supposed to go England for the time being and this horrible situation screams, my bag is definitely with him. We parted ways in the airport."

"You never bothered to notice you have _absolutely_ no possessions?!"

"Hey! I have my luggage!" His voice sounded pretty childish, while he tried to defend himself.

"Oh. _Oh._ " she didn't sound convinced _at all._ The story was quite absurd but well, interesting. So was the man. After a few more embarrassing moments for one of the biggest business tycoons, Natsu Dragneel, who again explained how he left his mobile in the side chain of the _bag_ the last time he went to washroom and _forgot_ to take it out, and receiving a hella lot of sceptical looks from the beautiful blonde woman in front of him, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Leave it...," he declared dejectedly in a I'm-ready-to-accept-any-sort-disaster tone.

"You can use my phone, child." A giggling playful voice answered all his prayers. His eyes snapped back towards the blondie as she took out her mobile and held it towards him.

 _"_ _You have pockets in that dress?!"_

"Which I know how to utilize." She nodded.

"I have to call England."

"Of course you can!" She offered him a genuine smile, conveying the message that no matter how peculiar his stories sounded, she was ready to help.

He shot her a look of gratitude before accepting the phone. He talked like an excited kid, wailing his arms around while she watched him from a distance, with an amused smile playing across her lips.

The talk lasted a good nine minutes and a slightly disinterested Lucy's attention drifted off towards the sea. It was a cheerful 'thank you' that startled her. She laughed seeing his freshened mood.

"Um.. could you do me another favour? He would take two days to come so.. Find me a place to stay? Cause I really, _really_ can't communicate with these people as no-one literally no-one understands English here!"

She chuckled at his claim, "Seems like you haven't met everyone in here after all. You can come to my place, I guess.." she ended with a shrug, uncertainty lingering in her voice.

"I would really appreciate that but I understand that you don't know me at all." His voice held authority this time, "I suppose you should find me a hotel, I have some money to back me up after all.."

She nodded. She may have helped him but he could be a murderer after all.

"Fine."

He offered a brilliantly charming boyish grin. Suddenly as realization hit him, his eyes widened as he coughed before speaking up again, "Well, I never introduced myself, did I? My name—"

"Stop."

"Huh?"

"Pause." She motioned her hands in a similar fashion refraining him from introducing himself.

"Excuse me?!" His voice was laced with confusion.

"Don't expose your identity to me. It's gonna turn up to be the same old story, girl meets boy, boy meets girl, hi-hello, lame introductions, finding out common group of friends, exclaim what a small place this world is, then few moments of flirting and whoosh! The memories of this encounter would be wiped out from our brains."

He couldn't understand whether the beautiful stranger in front of him was trying to flirt or simply speaking gibberish to take revenge on him for his stories. He just blankly stared at her.

She continued, "Let's bring a twist to the story, shall we? During your stay in here, during the time you spend with me, all we tell each other, about each other, would be _lies_."

With a dumbfounded expression, he stared at her. She smirked. This was going to oh so interesting. She didn't plan this plot beforehand. It just struck her like lightening, and just like that she wanted to a shot to this idea. After all, why not? Interesting encounter, weird people, the situation demanded the creation of a new story.

"So you are telling me that we would never know anything about each other?"

"Yup." She nodded enthusiastically. "So, what's your name?"

On any other occasion, a normal man would try to flee from such a situation but not him. It's not that he had much of a choice either but the gorgeous lady in front of him intrigued him in such a manner that he couldn't quite put his hand on. A playful smirk made its way to his face, as he decided to play along.

"Don." He outstretched his hand towards her and repeated, "Myself, Don."

She giggled, "I'm Mona. Mona Darling." She took his hand as both of them smiled like kids who have been offered a lifetime supply to candies.

"So what should I call you, Mona..?" A playful tug, to bring her closer, "Or, Darling?" He ended with a wink.

Her laugh was melody to his ears as she pulled him by his arm, motioning him to follow her. That was one of the greatest life-changing decisions he ever made, as he decided to follow her, to be the new character in her story.

* * *

 **So yeah... that was the prologue of the amazing journey ahead. It was kinda long for an introduction but never mind. *sheepish grin* This meeting has been inspired by a Bollywood movie, Tamasha, (watch it if you can!) but the characters, the setting, everything is reversed. If you have noticed their situation in this story is sort of reversed of what was in the anime. I have wanted to write this like forever!**

 **Hope you liked it! Stay tuned! Till next time then, my lovely readers! ;D**


End file.
